The present invention relates to a neck support. In particular, the present invention relates to a neck support for improving sleep in a prone position. The present invention further relates to a mattress including such a neck support.
As is known, ordinary mattresses comprise a substantially flat surface for supporting the user""s body.
The supporting surface is flexible and therefore only adapts to the physical characteristics of the user according to the pressure exerted on each part of the surface.
And to achieve a sleeping position such as to rest the user""s neck muscles, pillows are ordinarily used, which are simply placed on the supporting surface of the mattress.
All the above factors result in several drawbacks.
Foremost of these is the tendency of the user, as a result of normal body movement during sleep, to move towards, and so press the pillow against, the headboard.
As a result, the pillow increases in height and so supports the user""s head in an excessively high position, causing fatigue and stiffness of the neck muscles.
Further problems arise when the user, during sleep, assumes a prone position or a position lying on one side so that one arm (or both) is bent beneath the body or stretched out beneath the head, and large part of the body weighs on one shoulder or on the arms.
If prolonged, the above position may result in pains in the joints, or may seriously impair blood circulation in the upper limbs, thus resulting in numbing of the upper limbs and a general feeling of discomfort.
The user is therefore awakened frequently, and the quality of the user""s sleep seriously impaired, by painful stimuli from the neck or upper limbs.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,652,981 and 3,828,377 disclose neck supports for supporting the a user""s neck while laying face down.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a mattress and a neck support assembly designed to eliminate the aforementioned drawbacks, and which in particular enables the user, during sleep, to maintain a prone position or a position lying on one side.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an anatomical mattress featuring a neck support, and which cooperates with the neck support to enable the user to assume a correct, comfortable sleeping position, in particular a prone position or a position lying on one side.
It is a further object of the present invention to achieve the above in a straightforward, low-cost manner.
The present invention relates to a mattress and a neck support assembly. The mattress comprises a supporting surface and a head end. The neck support is fittable to the head end and comprises a rigid surface, a cavity defined partially by the rigid surface and located beneath the rigid surface, and a supporting means for supporting the rigid surface. The rigid surface supports the head of a user lying on the mattress. According to the present invention, the mattress comprises a recess formed at the head end of the mattress. The supporting means, in use, locks the rigid surface in a work position where the rigid surface allows the cavity to receive, through the recess, at least one upper limb of a user when the user is lying on the supporting surface of the mattress in a prone position or on one side.
The present invention also relates to an anatomical mattress. The anatomical mattress comprises a supporting surface for receiving the body of a user, a head end for accommodating the upper portion of the body of the user, a first recess formed close to the head end, a second recess formed at the head end and communicating with the first recess, and a neck support. The neck support comprises a rigid surface covering the second recess and a supporting means for supporting the rigid surface and locking the rigid surface in a work position. The first recess has an opening coplanar with the supporting surface. In the work position, the rigid surface defines, with a bottom wall of the second recess, a cavity for receiving, through the first recess, at least one upper limb of the user lying on the mattress in a prone position or on one side.
Some of the advantages of the present invention will be clear from the foregoing description. In particular, both the height and tilt of the neck support may be adjusted to best suit the physical characteristics and size of the user; and, being fixed with respect to the mattress, the support provided for the user""s head by the neck support is unaffected by any involuntary movement of the user during sleep.
A further advantage lies in the anatomical mattress being so shaped as to reduce the load on the shoulders and arms of the user when lying in a prone position or on one side.
The weight of the trunk and head is better distributed, thus preventing pains in the joints and numbing of the upper limbs due to impaired blood circulation.
The user therefore assumes a more comfortable sleeping position, which no longer results in frequent awakening of the user or discomfort during sleep.